Columbus’ 26 street sweepers will begin their annual trek around the city on Monday, starting in
Franklinton. That means that vehicles parked on some curbed streets should be moved to make room
for the machines, said Rick Tilton, spokesman for the city’s Public Services Department.

“One of the things we want to do is get this out to ask people to move their cars so it gives a
clear way for street sweepers to go right down the curb,” he said. “We don’t want to tow people.”C
olumbus towed 3,313 vehicles that blocked street sweepers last year, Tilton said, up from 3,163 in
2011.Owners are fined $50 and must pay a towing fee of about $125 and an $18-a-day impoundment
charge.

The city tows vehicles parked in areas with permanent signs that warn drivers about regular
street sweeping, Tilton said. These signs are posted in the German Village, Italian Village and
Harrison West neighborhoods and along Neil Avenue and in the Ohio State University area.The
Downtown business district will be swept once a week, but most posted streets will be swept two or
three times a year, Tilton said.

The rest of the city’s streets will get one or two passes between April and October. The city
does not tow vehicles on those streets; sweepers drive around them.

“Because there are so many streets, we want to get them at least once. If we get them a second
time, that’s a bonus,” he said.The primary reason for street sweeping is to keep debris out of
storm sewers to prevent flooding and pollution overflows in waterways.

Kristen Easterday, president of the Harrison West Society, said her car was towed soon after she
moved to the area three years ago.“I should have known,” she said. “Now I put it on my Google
calendar as a reminder.”

The University Area Commission fields complaints about street sweeping and towing every year,
said Doreen Uhas-Sauer, the group’s president.

“I think it catches everybody by surprise — not just students, but residents as well,” she said.
“Of course, there are people who will be upset.”

The city is notifying neighborhood commissions and posting weekly updates to street-sweeping
schedules on social-media accounts and its website, Tilton said.